Dark Child
by Casmilla
Summary: Her mother was ravished by a creature of pure evil, and from that evil gave birth to a daughter. Her search for justice drove her deep into the Carpathian Mountains and into the arms of a man from her dreams. Or nightmares. The story of Constantine.
1. Prologue

Dark Child:

**Author's Note: I've been waiting to upload this story for a long time. I realize that I still haven't finished Dark Deception, although I plan too. I simply got too impatient and had to write Constantine's story next. Dark Child begins after Dark Deception finishes, but, like Christine Feehan's novels, Dark Child can stand alone. **

**I would like to apologize about the delay, but I would also like to give a big thank you to all of you who have been so patient with me. So, THANK YOU!!! :)**** I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.**

Complete Summary:

Her mother was ravished by a creature of pure evil, and from that evil gave birth to a daughter. Haunted by the shadow of her father, her search for justice has driven her deep into the heart of the Carpathian Mountains and straight into the arms of a man from her dreams. Or nightmares.

His life was forever ruled by his desperate search for her. Now, in his grey and lifeless world, he must pull himself back from the edge of oblivion and fight for her. But what happiness can he find when she has a darkness to match his own?

Destined to be together or perish, can they forgive one another and build a life together from the ruins of their past? The long awaited story of Constantine.

* * *

Prologue:

The warehouse was dark and dingy, and the stench of rotting flesh hung thickly in the air. Red stains pooled in every corner and rusty tools hung from overhead beams. The unnecessary iron chains cut painfully into her bare skin. She knew by now that she could not fight him off, she knew there was no escape.

She choked on her sobs but still managed to mumble the lyrics. She could sing it in her sleep now, if she had to.

From somewhere in the back of the warehouse, he was humming the tune along with her. She finished the chorus.

"Watch from the shadows, watch how they dance."

"They'll never escape you, they haven't a chance."

"First verse," he whispered from the shadows. His voice was like grating steel and held all the promise of wrenching bones.

"Knick the skin, so pale, so soft."

The humming grew louder. He was right beside her now. She shut her eyes tightly; she could not bear to see his blood red eyes. Not again. He ran a hand through her hair, now matted with blood. "Sing for me," he crooned softly. His nails scraped too hard. She drew a shuddering breath.

"Spill the blood, spare not a drop."

There was twinge of pain along her collar bone. A trickle of blood wound its way down between her breasts. She gasped as she felt his rasping tongue clean her of it. She kept singing.

"Second verse!" he shouted with perverse glee.

His voice now joined hers. He carried the tune wonderfully in a deep bass. She could only choke out every other word between her sobs.

"Taste the flesh, so soft, so nice."

"Sing the screams, embrace the night."

She screamed as his teeth sank into her skin. She fought to keep singing. The pain only got worse when she refused to sing.

There was a loud crash and a gasp of pain that was not hers. "Watch from the shadows, see how they dance." Suddenly his teeth were gone and the blazing fire in her skin diminished. She was still too afraid to open her eyes. 'They'll never escape you, they haven't a chance."

Another voice joined in the song now, but with words she did not recognize.

"Reverence the blood, waste not a drop."

The shackles dropped away from her wrist and she became aware of warmth coursing through her. The first warmth she had felt in so long.

"Dream of her smile and long for the life." His voice was deep and pure, and brought with it promises of peace. "Sing with me now, embrace the night."

She gazed up into grey eyes that swirled like storms. Hope, salvation. Still she sang. She was aware of him cradling her as the darkness closed in.

* * *

The full moon cast its brilliant rays over the Carpathian Mountains. It brightened the tips of trees with silver light and pooled deeply in the valleys. Constantine paid it no mind. He wove between the branches with purpose. Duty drove his actions.

One final sweep of the earth had come up empty. He was now convinced that there really was no woman out there for him, or if there was, he was not favored by the divine enough to find her. No, there was no one there to save him. He would have to find salvation on his own in the only other way he knew.

He wound deftly towards a small clearing, a place he held in fond memory. The clearing was as old as he was. It was there he and Dominov spent a great deal of time as children, learning to master their skills and physical strength. It was there they planned and schemed and dreamt of the future. It was there they first spoke of what their lifemates would be like, and, as fate would have it, it was the first place Dominov brought Alena. As far as Constantine was concerned, it was where his life first began.

An appropriate place, then, for his life to end.

The sounds of the night caressed him. Even the trees themselves, as old as he was, seemed to part for him. Were they beckoning him to stay or playing for him one last time? It did not matter. It had to be done, for the good of every Carpathian. He would not succumb to the dark. He would not, could not force Dominov to strike down his once greatest friend.

He shut his mind off from every other living thing. Utter stillness settled over his grey world.

Wherever his lifemate was, whether long dead or still waiting for the womb, his heart went out to her. He sincerely hoped that she had or would have a blessed, happy life.

The Carpathian Mountains were his home. They were in his blood. He materialized in the small clearing and waited patiently. He had always wanted to see the sunrise. He supposed he would settle for seeing it in shades of grey.

**0000**

The full moon shone brightly through the windows of the small silver car and cut sharply across Elaine's eyes, preventing sleep. Not that she could have slept anyway. Not even in the small morning hours, nestled deeply in the forested mountains far from anything she considered to be civilization. Her mind was not at peace enough to allow for sleep.

Her eyes darted furtively to the back seat of the small car before she could stop them, where her leather briefcase rested seemingly benignly against the seat. All she could see were the documents burning a hole through the briefcase. Burning a hole through her heart.

Her life as she knew it was ending, and she fled to the Carpathian Mountains hiding behind business.

"Doin' alright, kid?" Jordan asked, taking his eyes off the winding road.

"Oh, just fine, Dad," she answered, her voice laced with mockery. He smirked; he hadn't expected anything less. She settled back against the seat and stared out the window. If she closed her eyes, would she see them? She yawned. Her whole body seemed to ache. But then again, she should be used to it by now; her body always seemed to ache.

The rich Carpathian landscape whirred by in various dark colors, shades of blue and gray and black. There was always something about the night she loved; she found comfort in it. But tonight not even the full moon could assuage her. The little car sped through the night, racing up mountains and down valleys with little care. Jordan's driving would kill her one day.

The hours passed and Elaine could find no sleep. She took some small comfort in watching the Carpathian Mountains, and soon she could see a faint pink line painting the background of the mountains off to her right. She felt in her pocket for her sunglasses, wanting the reassurance of knowing they were there. Her eyes were overly sensitive, at best.

As they climbed a mountainside, a deep valley was exposed to her right. Her vision had always been exceptional, especially at night, and with the full moon to help her, the entire valley was illuminated before her. It was filled to the brim with giant trees and glistening leaves, and a small clearing that seemed in the moonlight to be a pool of silver. Elaine pulled herself up to get a better view. Wait. Was that a man standing there? Elaine squinted to try and get a better view, but even her eyes could not make it out clearly. But then, who would be in the middle of the Carpathian Mountains at this time of night? No, certainly not a man. Not entirely convinced, she settled back again.

It was not until the little car had left the valley completely out of sight that something unseen hit her squarely in the chest. Gasping, Elaine sat bolt upright and clutched a hand to her racing heart. It was as though someone – no_, something_ – had reached out and touched her heart.

"What's wrong?" Jordan asked. He was instantly alert and feeling one hand inside his coat pocket for the hard steel they always carried. He learned long ago to trust Elaine's instincts and senses even when his own could not detect anything.

"I don't know," she replied cautiously. She massaged her heart to calm it down, but she could still feel that brush across her soul. Something was out there, all right.

Jordan frowned but withdrew an empty hand from his coat. "This is going to be one of those awful jobs that people write books about, isn't it? Ah well, let's just get it done with so we can go home."

Elaine grimaced. Home, right. She didn't have one of those anymore.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was getting worse. The clock on her nightstand read just past seven in the morning. She and Jordan arrived in town early in the morning and caused a bit of a raucous trying to get rooms in the inn. They had apparently been sent into a rural, agrarian town where the inhabitants started their days at four in the morning, because people were already up and about when she and Jordan straggled in. well, Jordan was still wide awake. It was Elaine that was having problems. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink all through the night and she couldn't seem to get her mind under control. Apparently she hadn't been looking too well either, because when she and Jordan arrived in the inn, the other guests were worried. One man, about Jordan's age, seemed concerned enough to touch her. Without thinking about what she was doing, she almost broke his hand. Not a good start to the day.

And now Elaine's body was working against her. She was lying in the fetal position, the blue bedding twisted around her aching body. Everything hurt. Her joints ached, her eyes were sore, her ears were too sensitive and every noise hurt. Her stomach was convulsing painfully now. Elaine knew what she needed, but how she hated it!

Suddenly her cell phone rang. The sound made her clutch her head in her hands and whimper. It was lying on the desk all the way across the room and Elaine seriously thought about not answering. But she had to. There was only one person it could be, and she had to answer no matter what.

Grimacing in pain, Elaine made her away over to the desk and picked up her phone. Restricted number. "Hello."

"I trust you arrived safely. Listen closely to your next instructions." Elaine listened.

After a few short minutes, the man on the other end of the call hung up. She texted Jordan without a moment's delay. _Get ready_. It only took a few minutes for her to get ready; she was used to this by now. But something gnawed at her from the inside. Why should she have second thoughts now? Elaine argued with herself for a moment, then produced an ugly manila folder, and from it withdrew two sets of paperwork. She sat at her desk and read them over, which at this point was just masochistic because she had already read them enough to know them word for word. _Notice of Divorce_.

Elaine frowned down at the paperwork. The words were eating away at her soul, but there was still something gnawing at her stomach. The man on the phone, her employer.

The whole organization was very secretive, and since she and Jordan were contracted outside the organization, they were even more secretive than usual. She had been working for them for almost three years now, and this would be the first time she ever met them in person. She could still remember that first telephone call.

It had come just after the birth of her daughter, when she and Brian were making a family and a life together and she was contemplating giving up her search altogether. The number registered as "Restricted" on her cell phone and the caller never gave his name. He explained the organization briefly, vaguely outlining their beliefs. Then he explained how he found her in even vaguer terms. All of her information and actions would be purely confidential, of course, he assured her. He was the only one of the organization who would know her name or her face. They would protect her identity, he promised. She would never be in danger, and neither would her family.

Sure, they sounded crazy at first. An organization of vampire hunters? True, she had been looking for vampires herself, or at the very least reliable information about vampires. But she never actually thought she would find an entire organization devoted to finding them and exterminating their evil. Then he convinced her. He told her things about vampires that only someone who had ever been in the presence of one could truly know. Their blood red eyes, fangs, incomprehensible power. He described them in detail. Everything her mother had once told her.

And then he asked her to join them. Why me? she had asked. They needed her superior skill, he said. He had researched her extensively, and knew of her skill at interrogations. With the sort of information they were trying to collect, they had to know without doubt that it was truth. They also needed someone with motives linked to their cause, who believed as they believed.

Elaine accepted quickly. She convinced Jordan to come with her, and together they travelled the world at the request of the vampire hunters, interrogating who they said and gathering information. It was all highly illegal of course, and not always what they claimed. She was certain she had never interrogated a true vampire. She was not certain such a thing would be possible. But she was certain that some of the people she interrogated really did know something about vampires. Some even claimed to have met a vampire. And the organization always demanded blood samples from those she interrogated, which coincidentally suited her needs just fine.

Elaine was also certain that she wasn't quite what they anticipated. She worked very hard never to physically harm those she interrogated, though that was not always possible. And she always provided them with the truth. The truth as it was, not as they wanted it to be.

It didn't matter, really. She let them lead her around her the world. She let them lead her life, really. She was going to find him. The bastard who raped her mother. Her father.

And now they led her here, to the heart of the Carpathian Mountains, where all of their suspicions were seated. As she sat at her desk, she contemplated her actions. Black suit on, briefcase at her feet full of needles and blood-drawing equipment, divorce papers in one hand, custody papers in the other. Was it worth it? Was she doing the right thing?

Her body ached. There was a knock at her door and Elaine jerked attention. With a pounding heart, she rushed to hide the papers before Jordan entered.

"Ready, kid?" he asked through the wooden door.

"Yeah, ready," Elaine called over her shoulder. She tried to keep the strain from her voice. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she was ready, or if she could do it at all today. Her body felt so weak and it took a surprising amount of strength to make sure someone was telling the truth. Still, she replaced the papers in the ugly manila folder and put them in the top drawer of the desk before going to meet Jordan.

They were hardly an inconspicuous pair as they walked through the common room of the inn to the front doors, in matching black suits and briefcases. Even in the middle of a cloudy day, she needed sunglasses to protect her eyes. It was not her fault her eyes were sensitive. No one in the inn had been too friendly with them after Elaine had nearly broken a man's hand the night before, but it suited her just as well. She hated small talk and fake politeness. She had a purpose. Even the innkeeper, a plump, kindly woman with a ready smile, did not offer so much as a grimace as the pair strode past. It was only after the door was securely closed after them that the innkeeper picked up the phone and began to dial. "Hello, Mikhail…"

Elaine smirked. She had heard someone mention Mikhail the night before too, apparently he was some sort of lord of the land. It didn't matter though. The woman could call whoever she wanted. Something strange pooled in her stomach, some odd mix of emotions. Something was coming. Elaine hesitated and thought briefly on whether she should tell Jordan, but decided against it.

After three years, it was about time she met a vampire. If this Mikhail was one of them, so be it.

For a moment, Elaine did not breathe. There was that eerie tugging at her heart again, that brush at her soul. Then a wicked smile settled over her. Jordan was right. Something was going to happen.

**0000**

It was hours before the sun sank low enough for Constantine to rise for the night. He rose as the sweet earth parted before him and tested the air. The night seemed fresh in some way he could not name. The air was cool, the landscape crisp. Even the moon seemed brighter. A wolf call sounded off to his right, and he resisted the urge to answer it with his own.

Something about this night seemed so different from every other in his life. It seemed…right.

He was somehow different, he could tell. There was something of a purpose in him that was missing the night before when he had been ready to greet the dawn.

He was still in the clearing that he had once intended to be his final resting place. Perhaps it would still be, one day in the future. But that day was still far away.

He had stood, tall and strong against the coming of the dawn. He was ready, never wavering even as the first rays of light painted the far sky pink. Even then, he was ready for the sacrifice he had to make. He had been ready.

But something happened. He could not say with any certainty what it was or why he had only felt it then. A presence, a feeling. A soul. Someone had been watching him and he had made brief contact with them. With her. That brief moment of contact had given him some peculiar insight though. Her soul was heavy and her mind focused. And her mind reacted instantly to his. There was something promising in that.

He had not had long, only a few seconds to make his choice. He grappled for her mind, but could not find it. It had been like trying to catch the air itself. But he had to know more about her. And so, with only a few seconds to spare before the dawn, he opened the earth and plunged himself into its welcoming embrace.

And now, he stood again, and she filled his mind. He did not have much to go on, only the brief trace of mental patterns and a mixture of feelings. It was as though that brief contact sparked a drive in him, a purpose. He did not know who she was or where she was from or why she was here. But he knew he had to find her. For the safety of his people, perhaps. Or maybe just for his own peace of mind before he finally handed himself over to the dawn. It did not matter. He tasked himself with this.

And Constantine Tempest had yet to find a task he could not complete.

Giving himself over to the night, Constantine's body rippled as he let ancient powers overtake him. Her scent. That would be the first place he started. His new wolf body had no difficulty finding her scent along the road and followed it. Despite himself, he let primal instinct take over and he raced through the trees, weaving and slaloming as fast as he could. It came very close to exhilaration. He caught the air on his nose from time to time, making sure he still had her scent. There was something very alluring about it, very feminine.

Constantine followed the winding trail all the way into a village, where her scent lingered heavily in an inn. She was not there at the moment, but the amount of her scent still lingering told him that she had personal belongings there and would undoubtedly return. He smirked. The village was very near to Mikhail's home and, his relationship with the prince being as it was, him entering would come very near to encroaching on Mikhail's territory. Constantine very nearly grinned as took his normal form and adopted the ridiculous garb of modern humans before striding toward the inn and walking defiantly inside.

"Good evening," he greeted the innkeeper amiably and read her mind in one quick sweep. She seemed momentarily shocked, but recovered quickly as he continued. Hunger always gnawed at his ancient body, and always grew worse when in the presence of humans. He eyed the innkeeper briefly. She was certainly not the sort he normally fed from. He preferred the arrogant young women who thought themselves irresistible or the fragile daughters of wealthy men who thought they could shelter their girls from anything. But, since this was Mikhail's territory, perhaps he could make an exception. "I am a friend of Mikhail's. Is everything in order here? Was there something wrong this afternoon?"

The innkeeper favored him a smile that he felt inclined to return. A faint pink tinged her cheeks. "A strange pair of guests, is all. Foreign, no doubt. American judging by their accents, here on business judging by their outfits. Arrived late last night and caused quite a stir. They still had some of the guests a little uneasy this morning." He held back a chuckle. A smile was all it took to loosen her tongue. Add a slight mental push and… "A man and a woman. The woman's staying room two hundred twelve, if you'd like to have a look, up the stairs to the left."

"Thank you," Constantine replied graciously. Perhaps he could have found the information out more quickly from reading her mind, but what was the point of encroaching if you didn't have a little fun first? Lingering a little here and there should clue Mikhail in sooner.

Constantine followed the woman's scent and the innkeeper's directions. Up the stairs, to the left, third door on the right, and room two hundred twelve. The scent was strong. He inhaled deeply and held it in his chest. Then, with a strange tightness in his chest, Constantine pushed the door open and entered.

The room was empty, just as he knew it would be. Yet, for some reason, upon seeing the empty room something in his chest fell. Her scent was everywhere. On the chair at the desk, the hairbrush on the nightstand, the robe hanging on the back of the door, on the bed.

It was as though he were a man possessed. What did he know about this woman? Absolutely nothing of consequence. There was not even a reason for him to feel so compelled to find out about her. But he was compelled. He could have looked through the desk for papers or rummaged through her belongings to find out something about her. But it wasn't really information he was looking for, Constantine realized. He was drawn to where her scent was most concentrated. The blue bedding.

Constantine froze in shock as the full weight of his realization sank in. Blue. The color of the bedding was blue. The walls were beige, the carpets brown, and the curtains blue. He realized now that the color of the sunrise was pink. He could see color.

And he could feel. Challenging Mikhail was satisfying some primal urge. Running with the wolves was exhilarating. Chasing the scent was thrilling. Even yesterday, when he stood ready to greet the dawn, it was emotion that stopped him. Hope, fear, something to live for. Someone to live for. That tightness in his chest now was anticipation, he realized. He wanted to see her. Her. His lifemate.

He was still trying to grasp the full meaning when he heard noises outside the door. From where he was standing, the moonlight coming in from the window illuminated his face, but he was largely cloaked in shadow. It hardly made a difference. He was glued to the spot, wanting so much for the door to open so he could see her. It seemed to take forever. The key grated in the lock. The doorknob twisted slowly and the door opened even slower. Finally, he saw her.

She was more beautiful than he could have imagined. A real woman. She was tall and fit, slender but still possessing all the curves that a woman should. Long black hair in thick curls hid her face as she felt for something in her pocket. When she found whatever it was, she looked up directly at him. Her eyes were nearly as dark as his and thick, long eyelashes framed them beautifully. Her lips were full and all he could think of was kissing her and hearing those beautiful lips call his name. There was a regality and refinement in her features. High cheekbones, almond-shaped eyes. She may even have been able to pass for Carpathian if it wasn't for her a slight natural tan on skin. Constantine noted light freckles on around her nose.

For a moment, she seemed frozen as well. But only for a moment. She dropped her briefcase and withdrew a small, compact handgun. From the way she pointed it at him, he could see perfectly down the barrel. In her other hand, Constantine saw a vial of blood. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him.

The gun did not scare him. He saw in her eyes that she was alert and caught off guard, but there was nothing about her that made him think she would actually pull the trigger. He inhaled deeply, wanting her scent to fill his lungs again. Three thousand years, and what to finally say to your lifemate? He inhaled again. Only now there was another scent mixed with hers. Male.

"Oh, hey, Elaine, quick question: next time you get a call, can you – whoa!" A male suddenly appeared behind her. It was only a split second in which Constantine snarled and the male pulled a gun and fired. The woman, his lifemate – Elaine? – seemed jolted by the arrival of the male. She jumped slightly and jarred the male's arm.

Constantine felt two bullets pierce his left shoulder, just slightly off their mark, and he did the only thing he could think of: he fled.

Jordan kept firing, even after the man disappeared. The window shattered from the bullets and glass flew outward, letting the cold mountain air swirl through her room. People came running up the stairs and gaped at the pair of them.

For some reason, Elaine never pulled the trigger.

"What the hell was that?!" Jordan shouted before he realized that everyone in the inn was standing outside her door. Once he did realize, he flushed and cleared his throat. He hid the gun as quickly as he could, a little late since everyone had seen him shoot out the window pane, and tried his best to contain the situation. "My apologies, ladies and gentlemen. My friend and I aren't use to country life. There was a wolf and well, you see…" There were grumbles as he went on, but soon enough all the bystanders were making their way back their usual activities, most muttering about Americans and self control. The plump innkeeper was the last to leave, but not before she was certain Elaine saw her smugly satisfied expression.

"Shut the door, Jordan," was all Elaine could think to say.

"What the hell was that?!" Jordan repeated once the door was securely shut. "You could at least look a little startled, you know, like you didn't expect to see a gothic person-thing that can growl like a wolf and turn into a cloud!" He stopped and analyzed her. "Why didn't you do anything? I thought my heart was going to pop out of my chest. Why the hell do you look so calm?"

Elaine didn't have an answer. She was hardly calm though. On the contrary, her heart was racing just as it did when she felt that brush at her heart. In fact, when she walked in and looked into that man's eyes, she was struck with the same feeling, only intensified tenfold. It wasn't a simple brush at her heart. No, it was as though someone was gripping her heart tightly in their hand, and from the way he had looked at her, she was willing to wager anything that it had something to do with the mysterious man in her room. And when she looked into his eyes… a woman could get lost in his eyes.

Come on, stop it, Elaine told herself. She wasn't thinking clearly, and no wonder. Her body was screaming at her. She would do better in a moment. Without another moment's hesitation, Elaine ripped the top off the vial of blood and tipped the contents down her throat. The metallic taste lingered in her mouth in a way she didn't like.

"Are you ever gonna answer me? You can't just leave me in the dark all the time! Why didn't you back me up? You could have…" Jordan stopped short when he saw what she was doing. His stomach coiled in disgust and he instantly looked away. He'd known it was coming. Elaine had been looking gaunt and haggard for some time now, and he was fairly sure she had passed out in the car on the way back to the inn. He had no idea how Elaine could stomach it, but it certainly had instant effects. A flush returned to her cheeks and she no longer looked so haggard. Her breathing returned to normal. Jordan double checked to make sure the door was bolted shut. Still, drinking blood… "You feeling ok, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm good, thanks." Jordan frowned. That was Elaine. There was nothing she couldn't handle by herself.

"Glad to hear it. Now let's get to some problem solving. First on the list, what the hell was that?" That was Jordan.

But Elaine was hardly in the mood for "problem solving." All she could think of was that man, and she was planning to do some serious thinking. Now all she had to do was get Jordan to leave her alone. "On second thought, I'm actually pretty tired. You know I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Mind if we talk about this in the morning?"

"Sleep? You want to sleep after that?" A sly smile worked its way on his lips. "You know, if you're afraid of the dark or the big bad man, you can always sleep in my room tonight." He regretted it when she smiled and he saw the faint red tinge of her lips and teeth.

Over ten years later and he still wouldn't give up. Elaine smiled despite herself and shoved him out of her room. "Goodnight, Jordan."

"Goodnight, kid."

But sleep was hardly the first thing on Elaine's mind. As she walked over to the half broken window, she summoned everything she could remember from her brief encounter. He was tall with a hard look about him. Chiseled features, both his face and body, she remembered that. Had he been wearing clothes at all? She couldn't remember now. He had been made of muscle though, she was certain of that. And his face looked hard enough to have been carved from stone, yet smooth enough to be made from marble. His skin was the color of marble, too. Pale marble. And the way his eyes arrested her. Stormy grey and penetrating. Not to mention the way he snarled at Jordan. It certainly couldn't have been at her, since the man only seemed aggressive once Jordan walked in. As if the rest of it wasn't enough evidence, then there was the way he left. By simply disappearing. There was only one explanation.

So why couldn't she pull the trigger?

Then Elaine did something so rare for her. It was something she had been able to do since birth, but was always afraid to use. She pushed out with her mind into the surrounding lands, trying to sense the mental patterns of those around her. It was not as powerful as it could have been, since she really was sleep deprived and malnourished at the moment, and it came back to her in a jumble. There was a mixture of people's thoughts of memories and books and conversations and emotions. There were even multiple animals she picked up on, unsurprising for as deeply embedded in the forest as they were. But not what she was looking for. There was nothing to indicate the odd mental patterns she had encountered in that brief moment. Nothing of the vampire.

Elaine smiled wickedly and whispered into the night. _I know what you are and I'm not afraid of you. I've waited years to find you. Come and get me if you can. Vampire._


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Elaine lay awake for hours that night, seemingly incapable of finding sleep. It was not that she wasn't tired. On the contrary, her body was screaming at her for her sleep. But she could not make her mind stop racing. Could her search for justice finally have come to an end? Or at least the beginning of the end? Here, deep within the Carpathian Mountains, had she finally found what she was looking for?

But it was more than that. More than just vampires. It was_ him_. Every time Elaine shut her eyes or even so much as blinked, she saw him and his blazing eyes. Swirling storms of grey blazing from the darkness, from the depths of eternity. Even just imagining them did strange things to her. It made her blood burn.

Why hadn't she pulled the trigger? Not that shooting a vampire really would have done that much good, but Elaine could not help wondering. What had kept her from it? So what if he had the body of a god and a pair of eyes to match? Appearance had never had that much effect on her before. No, it was more than that. It was his aura. Elaine just had not felt in danger from him. Quite on the contrary, he seemed to pull her in, to beckon her. Seemingly with nothing more than his eyes and his will. There was no immediate danger that she could sense. _But why?_ None of it made sense! Why was he in her room? How did he stop her in her tracks with just one look? Why did he seem less dangerous to her than to Jordan? Why was he preventing her from sleeping? Why did she keep thinking about him?

And suddenly everything fell into place in Elaine's mind. Of course! He, whoever he was, was a vampire. And vampires preyed on young women _by seducing them_! Even the organization of vampire hunters she worked for warned her of that much. Was that what this vampire was doing? It had to be. Why else would he be in her room? Why else would he make her feel so…what exactly did she feel? Elaine hadn't the slightest clue, but now she was forming a plan.

If being seduced by a vampire was what it took to get close to them, to learn about them, then Elaine would do it.

For whatever reason, that realization seemed to bring her some peace of mind. Any normal woman be scared out of her mind to see a strange man in her room, let alone to discern that he was a savage vampire trying to seduce and do God knows what with her. But Elaine was not normal, and she had known that all her life. She would do what she had to.

Yet one tiny detail kept catching her: weren't vampires supposed to have red eyes? She had no explanation for that. Somewhere between forming her plan and thinking about that one tiny catch, Elaine drifted off to sleep with the early rays of dawn.

It was dusk when Elaine finally awoke. She squinted groggily at the clock and groaned. It was a normal occurrence for her to sleep all day after nourishing herself with blood, but it did disgust her. She felt like one of _them_. At least Jordan was good enough to understand, or not judge at any rate. Still grumbling, Elaine forced herself out of bed and into a warm shower. The blood certainly had undeniable effects. Her body felt a hundred times better and senses were keener than ever.

After she had pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater (nothing too fancy, since she still had to wait for another call before she had another job), a wave of guilt and longing washed over Elaine. Chewing her bottom lip over masochistic intentions, Elaine gave in and withdrew a photo from her briefcase. Tears stung her eyes as she examined little blonde girl in the photo. Waves of curls hung wildly about the girl's cherubic face, and her smile illuminated her eyes. Dark eyes, like her mother's. _Cecilia, my little girl_, Elaine thought longingly. Why was she out here instead of at home with her daughter? Was it really fair to Cecilia to have her mother gone so often?

"Hey, kid. You hungry?" Jordan stuck his head around the door without knocking. Elaine bristled slightly, but Jordan quickly spotted Cecilia's photo clutched in her hand and knew that he was disturbing her moment of private lamentation and inner struggle. Elaine had a lot of those moments.

"No thanks, I'm ok for now." The open door brought in smells wafting up from the kitchen downstairs, making Elaine's stomach knot and bile rise. She always disliked food the most after drinking blood.

Jordan hesitated though he expected as much. She was never really hungry. "How long will they last you?" It caught her off guard. He had always known that she took samples of blood for herself, and he knew what she did with them. It was always something he tried to turn a blind eye to and never brought up. The less he acknowledged it, the easier it was to pretend Elaine never drank blood.

"A while," she replied vaguely. He nodded. He was used to her vague responses by now, but that didn't mean that he wasn't hurt. It seemed like she couldn't trust him. Still nodding, Jordan muttered something about a pretty waitress and started to shut the door, but Elaine suddenly stopped him. "You saw him, too, didn't you?"

Jordan froze. Why did she have to bring him up? The man in her room who growled at him like a wolf and disappeared into thin air. Just because Jordan was enabling Elaine's vampire hunting fantasies did not mean that he was ready to believe them too, let alone see a flesh-and-blood vampire. He kept telling himself that he was only in on this because the pay was better. "Yeah," he conceded, "I saw him too."

Elaine did not even blink. Of course Jordan saw him. Because he was real, not some figment of her imagination. "We finally found them, Jordan. Vampires." She had waited so long to find the evil that tormented her life, and now it seemed she finally had. But why didn't that mysterious man in her room seem evil?

Glancing around the hallway quickly, Jordan slipped into Elaine's room and shut the door. "Do you want to broadcast that to everyone?" he whispered harshly. "If what you told me is true then we're right in the heart of them. Walking on their land, eating their food, breathing their air, eyeing their women." She glanced at him. "Ok, I'm eyeing their women. But aren't we supposed to suspect all the reclusive natives here? How do you know this guy wasn't a scout sent by them? We're not exactly inconspicuous; we don't blend in. I think we're in danger here, Elaine." She didn't respond. He gaped at her in shock. "You're ready to bleed for this, aren't you? You're ready to die for your cause, if you have to."

Elaine ground her teeth and looked at the picture of the little blonde girl in her hand again. Elaine was determined that whatever she and her mother suffered from, her daughter would never have to. "If I have to."

"I'm going to eat," was all Jordan could say. Shaking his head and muttering angrily about zealots, he shut the door and left her to her own suicidal thoughts.

**00000**

The healing earth ruptured in a spray of soil and rock as Constantine Tempest burst from the belly of the Carpathian Mountains into the welcoming night air. The inhaled the sweet fragrance of the night, listened to the call of the wolves. In this night, he even added his own howling call. The world was alive for him again. He was a changed man, he knew, different even from the night before. Now he knew why he was different, now he knew what he was hunting.

Primitive instincts as old as life itself beat at him. First and foremost, hunger. Hunger had always beaten at Constantine, gnawing at him from the inside. For three long millennia, it had threatened to consume him and turn him on his fellows. And for three millennia he had sought to sate it, and never succeeded. But tonight he hungered for sweeter blood.

And tonight he would not be caught off guard. Elaine. Constantine held her name in his mind as he soared through the air in the shape of a mighty falcon. How exhilarating it was to fly again. Tonight he would not allow a human with a gun to run him off. It was not that he was out of his element, more that he had simply been caught off guard. In truth, had Elaine's male not shot him, Constantine had no idea what he would have done. But he was ready now. She had issued the threat, the _challenge_, and Constantine was more than ready to play her games. But Elaine was not some average prey; she was no vampire to hunt or weak human to feed from. She was his lifemate, and as such she deserved the best he could give.

And he was more than willing to oblige. And now, with emotion racing through him like he never thought possible, with each new feeling more driving and powerful than the last, Constantine was certain that this was going to be greatest game he had ever played.

Elaine wanted a vampire, did she? Very well, Constantine would give her one.

**00000**

"You can't just call here whenever you feel like, you know," Brian's voice snarled from the other end of the telephone.

"I want to talk to my daughter," Elaine replied in an equally steely tone.

"So now you want to be a mother? Well maybe you can explain to your daughter where you've been the last three years."

"I would be there now if it weren't for those papers you gave me."

"And somewhere on those papers it explicitly states what times you can call and visit. Try sticking to those. Maybe it'll give our daughter some sense of normalcy."

"Put my daughter on the phone," Elaine repeated. She definitely didn't miss her married life. Brian grudgingly complied.

"Mommy!" Cecilia's voice rang through the receiver.

"Hi, baby. I miss you, love." She really did miss her daughter. It made her heart ache worse than anything else.

"I miss you too, mommy. When are you coming home?" Cecilia's youth made her slur her words and syllables together in a way Elaine loved.

"Soon, Cece. I'll be home soon, and then I'll never leave you again." Soon, when the vampires were dealt with. And then she could be the mother that Cecilia deserved, the mother that Elaine herself never had.

"Promise?"

"I promise, baby." Tears stung her eyes.

"Daddy says it's night-night time. I don't want to go, mommy. Daddy doesn't tell my story right."

Elaine nearly choked. "You should listen to your daddy. I'll be home soon, sweetie. And I'll tuck you in with Teddy and I'll tell you your favorite story. I love you, Cece."

"I love you too, mommy." Elaine heard Cecilia place the phone down loudly, and she heard in the background as Brian told her to wait in her room. He wanted to say goodnight to Mommy.

"Don't make her promises that you can't keep. You know you're not coming home any time soon." Because of her work, or because of the divorce and custody battle? She refrained from asking, knowing that it would only make things worse.

"I promised my daughter that I will be there to tuck her in, and I will. Don't try to take my daughter away from me."

"I'll see you in court," Briand promised before slamming the phone down loudly.

Elaine closed her cell phone and wondered for the millionth time if she was doing the right thing. She loved her daughter and wanted nothing more than to be there for her. But didn't she have a duty to keep Cecilia safe, too? Elaine knew the dangers that were out there, and wasn't it her responsibility to make sure that Cecilia would never be hurt the way her mother was? Once that was over, Elaine swore that nothing would ever take her away from her daughter again. Not Brian, not vampires. Nothing.

There was only one way forward from here.

**00000**

Dominov Fane was more than startled when Constantine Tempest burst unceremoniously into the grand foyer of his even grander home. The ancient threw the gold-inlaid doors open with a rush of wind and his eyes gleamed with a fire that Dominov had never seen before.

Dominov was instantly on his guard, leaping up from where he sat and springing into a ready position. But Constantine did not seem to notice. He did not seem to notice anything. On the contrary, Constantine was flying through the hall, spewing off nonsense at a rate that Dominov could barely follow.

"I found her!" Constantine shouted, rushing through the grand hall in a furious haste, clapping Dominov on the shoulders as he went by. "I've found her, brother!"

It was like nothing Dominov had ever seen from his friend before. He was speechless, but somehow managed to mumble a confused, "Congratulations. Who?"

"My lifemate, brother, I have found her! And now I am going to claim her. I have a plan, brother." Uh, oh. Dominov could not say why exactly his heart fell upon hearing that, but he had known his friend long enough to predict the inner workings of his mind. Constantine was brilliant, no doubt, but he did not always possess a great deal of common sense. And social skills certainly were not his forte. Dominov's eyes narrowed in confirmation of his suspicions. "Why are there bloodstains on your shoulder?"

Constantine glanced at his shoulder. "Hm? Oh, her male shot me. It does not matter, brother, I can kill him if I must." Dominov opened his mouth to speak, but could not think of anything to say. What was there to say? In the back of his mind he felt Alena entering the room at the top of the staircase. She must have sensed his confusion and rushed to see what it was because she was wearing only a silk robe. She was soon swept up in Constantine's strange whirlwind of a personality. "Ah, Alena! You look exquisite this evening! I trust Dominov is being good to you."

_What?_ Alena's confusion mirrored Dominov's.

_I think he found his lifemate,_ Dominov responded slowly.

"Oh, well that's fantastic!" Alena cried out in excitement. Much to Dominov's surprise (and certainly a surprise to anyone who had ever met Constantine), the crazed ancient dashed to the top of the staircase, lifted Alena and spun her in a circle before setting her down at the bottom of the staircase. Dominov tensed but Alena did not seem to mind. She always held Constantine in her heart, and rightfully so. "When did you find her?"

"And she is fantastic. I found her last night," Constantine replied in a rush. Alena and Dominov gaped again and exchanged bewildered looks. "She pulled a gun on me."

"I'm sure that's a very promising start," Alena said slowly, giving Dominov a look that said Constantine was clearly unstable. _Was he always this crazy?_

_Yes_. But something clicked in Dominov's mind. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Last night, you say?" Constantine nodded without looking at him. At this point, Dominov would not have been surprised to see his old friend break out into song and dance. "There was a bit of a disturbance last night. A young woman looking for vampires."

"You heard that too?" Constantine asked absently. He was still rushing around as though looking for something, but not entirely sure what he was searching for. He vaguely reminded Dominov of a new puppy who would run in circles with a sudden burst of energy.

"Every Carpathian within a hundred miles heard that. Mikhail has us all on alert." Dominov had not wanted to scare Alena, but he needed to see Constantine's reaction.

And Constantine did something that Dominov had never seen him do in all three thousand years of life. He threw his back and roared with laughter. "Already causing trouble, is she?" he muttered fondly.

Dominov was almost too stunned to speak. "This is hardly a laughing matter. It means there are vampire hunters in the area. It means she is a vampire hunter."

Constantine waved his hand imperiously. "Yes, yes, vampire hunters. Fascinating." Suddenly he stopped and held Dominov's gaze with such intensity that Dominov briefly wondered if Constantine was suffering from what the modern humans were calling bipolar disorder. "I have a plan, brother, but I am going to need your help. Will you help me, brother?"

How could Dominov say no? He nodded and Constantine immediately began dictating a list of his needs and things that needed to be done quickly. Dominov could tell that his friend was trying hard to keep things vague and not clue Dominov in on what exactly he had planned. Even so, there was a picture being painted in Dominov's mind, and his stomach clenched with every new idea Constantine came up with.

This was the Constantine that Dominov knew. And somehow, Dominov knew that this night would not end well. Constantine would be the death of him one day.

**00000**

Taking a deep breath, Elaine ground her teeth and made her choice. Pulling on a black leather jacket, she left her room in the inn and made her way outside.

She passed Jordan on the way out. "Hey, d'you finally decide you were hungry?"

"Nope," Elaine replied shortly. She glanced around quickly, then caught his shoulder and whispered in his ear. She slipped her cell phone, her only lifeline, into his pocket. "If I'm not back by tomorrow night, call them and tell them what's happened. Then get out of here, get out of the organization, and take your family and start a new life." Jordan's eyes bulged as he realized the full weight of her words, but Elaine turned and walked away before giving him a chance to respond.

"Where you going?" He made a vain attempt to call after her.

"Out." And she left it at that. The less he knew about all of this, the better. Elaine stepped through the door of the inn and disappeared into the night.

It was the dead of night, the time that rested oddly between the latest part of night and the earliest hour of the morning. The earth itself was still, and the only rare breaks in the silence of the night were crunching leaves that caused the stomach to clench in fear. That time when it seemed that only the creatures of the night – the owls and wolves and more deadly creatures – dared to brave the darkness.

Elaine chose this time of night to seek out her vampire and give herself over to him. She didn't have any real idea where she was going, but she figured the forest was the best place to start. Elaine had racked her mind for all the myths, stories, and legends she had ever heard about vampires. She would have started in a cemetery or a crypt if she could have found one. But since there was not one in the area, she chose the darkest, creepiest place she could think of. That was the forest, with the beasts.

It was not as bad as she wagered on at first. With her enhanced senses, it was easy to make out the happenings of the forest. The calls of owls, the scampering little creatures in the underbrush, the brilliance of the stars, the wind itself seemed to carry a call. Even the presence of the wolves lost their threat and became an exotic thrill in night. Part of her almost felt at home here.

Normally that part of Elaine stayed dormant. The part that loved the night and used enhanced senses and had mental abilities and drank blood. She hid that part, because it was too much like them. Because it felt so right that sometimes she was afraid she really was becoming one of them. But tonight Elaine welcomed that part of her. Something told her that she would need everything she had when she finally came face to face with her vampire. And she kept walking, further and further into the darkness of the forest.

It was hard to say how much time passed as Elaine walked deeper into the forest. She did not bother keeping up with her path and was soon lost among the trees. She purposely left the beaten path and was soon tearing her way through the underbrush. Occasionally Elaine would get caught by outreaching branches and thorny brambles that tore her jeans and scratched her legs. The forests became so thick that it was difficult to see the stars, and a light fog began rolling in through the trees. It was then that she felt worry creeping up on her. Why had she given her only life line to Jordan?

Elaine's heart was pounding in her chest when she forced herself to stop. It was not exactly a clearing that she stopped in, but there was a decent gap between the trees for her to rest and collect her mind. _Ok_, she told herself. _I'm ok. I'm in the middle of the Carpathian Mountains, lost in a forest trying to find a man I _think_ I saw, who may or may not be a vampire. I'm ok. It's ok. There's nothing insane in that. Now I just need to find him._

_Perhaps he will find you._ Elaine froze. Maybe the wind really was calling to her.

And then she saw him. Her vampire.

And he really did look like a vampire. He stood between the trees, his large form seeming to appear out of the night itself. He was dressed like a vampire of old, in black slacks and a black silk shirt with a Victorian style crimson vest embroidered in black. Black ruffles at his collar and black gloves on his hands. His skin was pale and shone silver in the gibbous moon. And his eyes were a grey that seemed to pierce Elaine's very soul. A black cloak billowed behind him. It made him blend seamlessly into the night and blurred the lines where his body stopped and the night began. He was the night.

Elaine had to remind herself to breathe. Maybe this was way more than she bargained for.

For long moments they stared at one another, his eyes never leaving hers. She stared back in pure stubbornness, refusing to let his impossible good looks drive her to blush and avert eyes. She was not a little girl. She could deal with an arrogant man. But an arrogant vampire…? The longer she stared into his eyes, the deeper he drew her in. They were storms, and they dragged her into their depths.

"You are a brave little girl. Don't you know what sorts of creatures roam the night?" It struck Elaine that she had never heard him speak before, but his voice was deep and flowed over her like velvet. She wanted him to speak again. He could have said anything to anyone so long as she could hear it. His voice held promises that whispered to her soul. Promises that spoke to a part of her so deep, so long forgotten, that she had no idea what they were saying.

He smiled. No, his lip curled back in a show of teeth. She saw fangs.

"You are brave but very foolish to seek me out, sweet." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring whatever it was that he smelled. He exhaled slowly and ran his tongue over his fangs. "And you do smell sweet." His snapped open and he fixed her with an intense gaze. "There is no telling what a scent like that could make me do."

Elaine was rooted to the spot. Her first instinct was to get angry – what did that fool think she was, some midnight snack? - but that would not help with her plan. Swoon, she told herself, you have to swoon. There was not much pretending to it. Elaine opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. He smirked in an infuriating way. Elaine narrowed her eyes before she could stop herself. "What do you wa-?"

Elaine did not get to finish her sentence before he moved. He disappeared into the night and left her standing open-mouthed.

"There is no need to be angry." The drawling voice came from Elaine's right, and she spun around to find him leaning casually against a tree trunk, arms folded across his chest. He did not even seem to blink. "Though I rather enjoy it. Such anger, such life." He disappeared again, and Elaine felt a rush of wind sweep over her. He reappeared at her left. "That is what we crave, you know. Life." His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. He held her in his palm, but by some stroke of good fortune, he did not seem to realize it yet.

And then he was behind her, his breath on the nape of her neck. There was a sound very like that of a cat's purr and something ruffled her hair. But he never touched her directly. For that she was thankful, and at the same time disappointed.

"Do I at least get to know your name?" Elaine managed.

"Constantine," he breathed into her ear. Chills ran down her spine and heat pooled in her abdomen. Then he was back in the place he first appeared, almost floating between the trees. "I am Constantine. Come, sweet. Are you ready to dance with the devil?"


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Are you ready to dance with the devil?"

Constantine Tempest had come to terms with himself centuries ago. He still remembered that fateful night: A vampire was loose, a creature that had once been kin to a Carpathian that Constantine had known in his younger years. The vampire was young, in a manner of speaking, and not at all on the same level with Constantine. And so Constantine pursued him in the most perverse way. He reversed the roles; no longer was it the vampire wreaking havoc, threatening to consume all life. It was a Carpathian tormenting, toying with helpless prey, a fawn caught in a deadly trap. He chased the foul creature, imbedded himself in its twisted mind, done everything in his power to make the creature suffer, and broke the abomination until the creature had dragged itself to bow at Constantine's feet begging for death. Even then Constantine did not relent. Firmly rooted in the vampire's mind, he forced the creature to wait for the sunrise. And Constantine felt every ray of sun as it charred the demon's flesh, heard every scream as though it were he himself experiencing it firsthand.

Why did he do it? He asked himself that question the very next night as he stared down at the charred remains, and the answer was so simple: he was curious. Why should he not be? The vampire could never have harmed him, and was it really so bad if a few more humans died in the learning process? Science demands sacrifice. That night, so many centuries ago, Constantine knew that he would never regret his decision. He was what he was. Monster, demon, or life giver. His lifemate would accept him for what he was. She had no other choice. He would give her no other choice.

Of course, that was a time before feeling, before emotion. Constantine had also considered what changes his lifemate would bring, and how they would affect him. He had studied Carpathian males closely over the years, always staying at a distance. He had seen how Mikhail changed, took an active role in Dominov's change. But he was most concerned with Gregori's change. The Dark One. They were alike in many ways, Constantine conceded, and that was probably why they would never get along. Apart, of course, for the reasons that Gregori could never equal Constantine and Constantine could never share his secrets. No matter. He had sought to find a Carpathian similar to him, that he may best predict how his own reactions would unfold once he found his lifemate. He had to say, he was not entirely off the mark.

Constantine was in awe over her, of course. Elaine, his Elaine. A perfect specimen of feminine beauty and attributes. And she was following him quite obediently deep into the Carpathian forest. That was not what he so awed by, of course. She was by far the strongest creature he had ever encountered. Not in physical strength, of course, or mental strength for that matter. But she had a strength of will that he was not sure that even his three thousand years could rival. And mental blocks to boot. They could not stop him though. He slid into her mind silently, deftly, but not reading too much into what he saw. A few surprises from her may be just what he needed. He did know, though, that beneath her sweet façade lay a schemer with plans and goals of her own. Constantine smirked. He really did need that.

With unerring skill, Constantine wove a spell through her mind. There was something quite strange about her mental patterns, something awfully familiar. Still, he had no trouble blanketing her mind with a fog.

And she was so beautiful. It was beauty like he had never known before. It was emotion like he had never experienced before. This woman, his lifemate. Elaine. She was so close. Her scent was all around him, her mind was open to him, her body there for him to take control of. He had never in his long life known temptation of this magnitude. It was obsession. He loved it. _A little longer_, he told himself. _Just a little longer_.

For Constantine, it was not a matter of claiming her. He was not like his foolish friend Dominov. There would be no courting Elaine, no energy wasted in trying to convince her of him, to convince her to come to him willingly. Of course she was his. Elaine was his by right. That was never in question. Even without marking her or exchanging blood or speaking the ritual words, Constantine could feel the bond between them. The destiny. Whether she saw it or not did not matter; he would make her see. Now he wanted to draw it out as much as he possibly could. Let the emotions inside him beat at him with savagery like he had never known before, let the demon in him threaten to destroy the both of them in uncontrollable passion and rage. He liked it better that way.

Elaine opened her eyes to see him standing before her, silent and still, undeniably haughty and arrogant with power. And he had it in excess. Power. There was no shortage of power in this man, this Constantine. He was very nearly lounging on the opposite wall, but there was nothing lazily in his stance. He was a predator, strong and lethal, a jungle cat stalking his prey, waiting to move in for the kill.

Reality struck. Her surroundings were completely different than she remembered just a moment ago. Now she was standing in what appeared to be the ruins of an old castle. She could not say why she thought they were ruins. The room they were in now was certainly old but seemed steady enough with thick gray stones building up a fortress around her. Or a prison. The walls seemed nearly impregnable, impenetrable. Yet for some reason, Elaine had the distinct feeling that they were underground. she bristled slightly at the feel of Constantine's eyes on her. She also had the feeling that she would only be leaving this room if he wanted her to. Her feelings were normally right.

In an effort to regain some ground, Elaine met his gaze fearlessly. Had she bitten off more than she could chew? Suddenly Elaine's plan unraveled in her mind. Whatever she had been thinking coming out here, openly searching for him, it was clear that she could not simply simper and swoon before him and hope to make it out unscathed. With his eyes burning so intensely on her, Elaine wondered if she could make it out of this at all. She could not wait for him to make the first move. She might not live long if she did.

The corners of his mouth twitched. It was good to see fire in his lifemate. It would make things much more interesting. Constantine was tempted to draw out the silence as long as possible, see just how much he could unsettle her. But something stopped him. Elaine did not appear a woman to be put off so easily. There was something so very familiar about her. Naturally, his body and mind and soul called out to her, and he could almost feel her stirring in response, despite her utter humanity. "Are you afraid?" he asked quietly. His voice was low and still, and it carried easily across the space between them.

"Should I be?" Elaine responded, clearly unruffled. Her mind was screaming danger at her, but some other part of her refused to accept it. It was a small part, hidden away deep inside, a part that she never liked to acknowledge. And yet it seemed to respond to him on some primal level.

"Why did you come looking for me?" Constantine continued. He was not yet trying to manipulate her with his voice, just trying to gauge her reaction.

"Why were you in my room?" Elaine retorted.

"Why do you refuse to answer my questions?" Amusement was creeping into his tone now.

"Why won't you answer mine?" she shot back.

Abruptly, Constantine threw his head back and laughed. When he finally calmed down, he saw that Elaine was glaring at him through narrowed eyes. He was right; this was going to be the greatest game he ever played. "I can see that this is going to be even better than I originally thought," he drawled. "We will never sort anything out this way, will we? And I hardly intend to waste the night bantering back and forth. A deal, then, a little game? You answer my question and I will answer yours."

"Isn't that a little like bantering back and forth?" Elaine questioned shrewdly.

To hear her speak! If hearing Elaine say anything brought this sort of reaction from him, then Constantine could only imagine what it might be like to hear her say his name. He seemed unable to control his thoughts and they spiraled downward into a wide array of fantasies he had known he harbored. Heat beat him. Emotion. Passion and possession. Constantine was fast losing control. Perhaps he had been mistaken about the power of a lifemate. No, he told himself, it had to be his age and the vastly more intense reaction to emotion. That was it. Yes, that. Not this infant. Closing his eyes against the irresistible sight of her, Constantine took a deep, calming breath. And instantly regretted it. At this close proximity, all he could smell was her.

The corners of Constantine's lips twitched again. Elaine found her eyes drawn to the hard lines of his face, the cruel slash of his mouth. He was every bit a vampire that she had imagined. He curled through him unexpectedly as he registered her thoughts. "Until I get bored."

"Don't play with me." So much for swooning. That plan was long gone now.

"Why ever not?" Constantine retorted in his same dry manner. Yet there was an intensity in his eyes that did not match his tone. "It will be far better for both of us if I play with you, if you learn to," he hesitated and wicked things flashed instantly through her mind, "_play _with me." Had she thought of those things herself? It was hard to say.

Yet if Constantine had thought her a frightened virginal little girl like Dominov's Alena or Gregori's Savannah, he was very sorely mistaken. Something wicked awoke in her. "I hardly think my husband would approve."

It was as though Constantine had been struck a blow. He was very nearly physically off balance. His stomach contorted in a way he had known possible and the whole thing seemed to fall out of his body. His heart pounded furiously against his chest and beast within him raged as he had never known before. Husband? Husband?! What husband? She could not have a husband! She belonged to him! She was his in every sense!

In a desperate need to prove how much she belonged to him, Constantine surged forward. His mind pushed forcibly into hers to see if she spoke the truth. He crossed the room in a single stride so that his body was looming menacingly over hers.

Elaine closed her eyes beneath his spell. He was everywhere at once, all around and inside her. And yet very carefully not touching her. Still, Elaine could feel the heat from his body and the way his breath tickled her cheek. Everything about him was dangerous. There was no use fighting. Elaine closed her eyes and felt herself slip further under his spell…

…and kneed him in the groin.

"Apparently it's as painful for vampires as it is for humans," Elaine observed coldly as she watched the would-be predator of the night doubling over and clutching himself in agony.

"I think you will come to regret that," Constantine snarled through clenched teeth.

Elaine went so far as to laugh. Any normal woman would be running in terror right now. Actually, any normal woman probably would not have been foolish enough to seek out a vampire, let alone break his spell and damage his genitals. She laughed again.

She did regret it, though. Quickly. In what seemed no more than a split second, Constantine had regained himself and pinned her hard against the wall. There was no longer and separation between their bodies. His hands were pressed hard against her flesh and his skin seemed hotter than could be possible. Or maybe that was just the searing heat left behind from their skin-to-skin contact. He pinned her arms above her head in a way that left her body defenseless to him, and his eyes gleamed with something so primal that Elaine could not name it. His teeth – fangs? - were centimeters from her face, but that did not hinder her body's arousal. What was happening to her?

And then he had his hand around her throat and it was clear from his grip that she was nothing more than a doll caught in a hurricane. He could crush her in a moment and never think twice, so it seemed. Recognizing this, Elaine stared defiantly into his eyes, ignoring the strange reaction her body was having to him. She practically dared him to kill her. Constantine's lip curled back in a snarl and his thumb moved. Not to crush the life out of her though. No, this gesture was much more dangerous because she had no idea what it meant: he gently caressed her pulse. Was he going to bite her? Would that kill her? Or make her a vampire like him? Or was he just planning to hold her like the vampire who held her mother? What was he doing?

He chuckled. It was as though he could read her thoughts. A slow, chauvinistic smile spread across his face. More like a drawl actually, and he moved his hand up to caress her face. He ran his thumb over her lips, half way inserting it into her mouth.

Elaine thought she might die from the tension. She fought desperately against the urge to kiss his thumb and see if his skin tasted as good as it looked. Whatever vampires did to seduce women, this one was doing it well. She needed to save herself, and quickly. "I thought we were here to dance."

He stared at her lips with what seemed oddly close to drunken lust. "That is the trouble with dancing with the devil." _He always wants more_.

The words trailed across her mind. Elaine shuddered. Not from fear, though. Even with body pressing so forcibly down on hers, his mind surging into hers (she was certain he had to be reading her mind the way she could sometimes read other people's thoughts), his fangs scraping her skin. He seemed so primitive, like a wild animal forcing its mate into submission. Her own body awoke to answer his primal call. That was what scared her. No man had ever affected her like this. The stark desire and lust arcing between them. Elaine had never felt this way before, not even with her husband.

Constantine's mind ravaged Elaine's, picking up every detail he possibly could. So much for allowing her surprises. Apparently even he had limits, and his lifemate's marriage was one thing he simply could not abide. In her mind, he ran through memory after memory, coursing through her entire life's story. What he found froze him to the core. The knowledge of who she was shocked him enough to force back the beast. Interesting. Very, very interesting.

Reluctantly, Constantine moved away from her. Only then did Elaine remind herself to breathe. "We can continue this dialogue in my home," he offered.

"What about our little game? We haven't started asking questions yet."

_Self preservation_, Constantine thought with dry humor. It struck him that Elaine was having as difficult a time controlling herself as he was. Very well, perhaps this would take their minds off of the extreme sexual tension. "Very well, would you care to start?"

"Yes, I would. Do you plan to answer my questions honestly?" It was a simple start.

Constantine shrugged. What point was there in lying to his lifemate? He wanted her to know everything about him. "Yes. Why did you come looking for me?"

"I'm hunting vampires. But you already knew that. Don't you think that's a little unnecessary?"

"Perhaps. But did you not also waste your question?"

Elaine smirked. "Are you a vampire?"

"No, did you really think I was?"

"At first. Why haven't you killed me?"

"You assume I am going to."

"Are you?" Somehow Elaine already knew the answer to that.

Constantine wagged a finger at her. "A little eager, I see. It is still my question."

"You never answered mine."

He sighed. "I grow tired of this game. I can think of better things to do."

"What are you?" There it was. The reality that Elaine was searching for. The truth to his existence, and thus to her own. Constantine had recognized the patterns of mind and now he recognized the notes in her voice. It was a bad attempt at compulsion, it would have worked flawlessly against any human. She was refined in her usage of it, if not particularly powerful. But then, his lifemate was only a half breed.

"Little girls who play with fire get their fingers burned," he whispered menacingly. Constantine decided he would show how compulsion was really meant to be used. "Do you love your husband?"

Elaine faltered. She did not want to answer, but Constantine's voice was so perfect and pure. She had to.

"No," she whispered.

As soon as she realized what had happened, Elaine gaped. There was a realization between them, a knowledge that flickered through the air but neither one of them gave voice to. All of a sudden, Elaine wanted nothing more than to run. This truth was what she feared.

Constantine was suddenly struck by the strangest wave of emotion. Embedded as he was in his lifemate's mind, he could feel her fear and her denial. Sympathy and compassion hit him. He had never known himself to be capable of such feelings, but the ancient wanted nothing more than to calm and reassure her. But Elaine, he knew, would never accept such a thing from him. Not now.

So much had transpired in the short time they spent together. Constantine's analytical mind was blazing with newfound knowledge and possibilities, and he knew the Elaine's mind echoed the chaos of his. They both needed time. With the beast raging inside him, one day was all he could manage. "I will take you home."

Elaine was perfectly aware of the subtle change that had taken place. Constantine, whatever he was, no longer seemed quite the predator he had when she first saw him. His body was still looming, his face still hard and impassive, but there was something different about his eyes. They no longer seemed so cold. On the contrary, his grey eyes seemed less stormy and more pensive. "I can find my way on my own, thanks," she replied stubbornly, not unkindly.

"Do not be a fool. You do not even know where we are." His words held no cruel humor at her expense. "Besides, you are tired and your body is sore."

"My body is always sore," Elaine interrupted rudely. She did not want her fear showing, but she desperately needed to get away from this man. There were things she needed to think about.

Constantine turned his thoughtful eyes towards her. "Perhaps I will fix that for her." He was implying exactly what she did not want to acknowledge. Picking up on her thoughts, Constantine sighed and shook his head. "I will spare you any further knowledge this night. I do not know why, but I will."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not asking you for anything." Elaine's tone held no room for argument, but Constantine would not hear it. She opened her mouth to continue, but Constantine sent out a swift command that effortlessly sent her into the sleep of mortals. She fell limp into his arms.

Constantine stared down at his lifemate. He had been alive for three thousand years, he knew more than other Carpathian, and he knew what it meant to find a lifemate. Still, the ancient could hardly believe his own fate. This woman, strong and fierce in her own right, born of the violent union of vampire and human. Determined to hunt her father's kind and yet terrified to acknowledge what she herself was. Constantine knew her, he had met her before. He was the reason that she was alive.

She was his lifemate. Even without the bond, he could feel her pain. He would help her understand. He had no choice. Lowering his mouth to her neck, Constantine marked his mate.

**00000**

Jordan found Elaine on the balcony of her room, watching the deepening colors of the sun setting behind the Carpathian Mountains. She had slept the day away again while he paced anxiously outside her door. That woman did whatever she wanted no matter what anyone said. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that she cared about him at all. Sometimes it killed him how much he really did care about her. She was certainly dressed for the weather, wearing a long sleeved cream turtleneck that did more to accentuate her body than hide it. He could not help but notice.

"I have been worried sick about you!" he very nearly shouted as he took the empty chair next to her, sounding too much like a worried mother.

"I'm sorry," Elaine replied. It was a mark of her mood that she did not chuckle or throw sarcasm at him.

"You can't just run out like that and not tell me where you're going! We're in danger here! They have people going through our rooms! What if something happened to you?" Jordan could not help himself. He cared about Elaine far too much to let her disregard for her own safety get in the way. He moved to lay a hand on her arm, but as he did so, a wolf howled somewhere out in the forest. It was a horrible sound that contorted his insides. And it was close.

Elaine turned sharply in the direction of the wolf call. "Something's happening, Jordan. Something big. I don't know what it is yet, but I intend to find out." She meant between her and Constantine. The more she dwelled on him, the more her insides seem to twist up. She could not seem to pinpoint exactly what she felt about him, and that only unsettled her more. But God help her, she just couldn't seem to think of anything else since she had mysteriously woken in her bed about two hours ago! She pulled absently at the turtleneck. Hidden beneath it were two tiny pinprick scars shining on the flesh of her neck. He marked her. She knew it. And she knew he was out there; the mark had grown warm after hearing the wolf call.

"Are you ok?" Concern laced through his every word.

"Yeah, fine," Elaine muttered distractedly.

Desperate for answers, for some insight into his best friend's life, Jordan continued. "What happened out there? Did you meet them? Was it the same man?"

"I'm not sure what happened. I only remember part of it." Constantine marking her was not part that she remembered, but Elaine had no intention of telling Jordan that she had been marked at all. What would he make of it? She did not even understand.

"You need to call them, Elaine." She felt him slipping her cell phone into her hand. "This is what we've been searching for."

Elaine gripped the phone tightly. He was right. This was what they had been searching for. Wasn't it? Was it? She couldn't be certain now. Constantine was dangerous, to be sure, but he hadn't hurt her, hadn't threatened her. He had not threatened anyone at all, not that she saw anyway. Besides, she wasn't even sure she trusted the society anymore. _Given the choice between the two of them, I would choose Constantine any day_. Elaine stopped short. Where had that come from? "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Her blatantly insulting answers became too much. "Do you ever find it odd that we're hunting vampires, and here you are drinking blood to keep yourself healthy?" Jordan tried hard to keep the scorn from his voice, but unsuccessfully.

Ok, she might deserve that, Elaine conceded. "Have I ever told you why we're hunting vampires?"

He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. "You've mentioned it once or twice. Something about your mother and an attack."

She nodded. Her insides squirmed as she considered revealing her deepest, darkest secret. Jordan was oldest friend, but all Elaine could think about was a pair of swirling grey eyes. She frowned and bit her lip. On some level, it felt wrong to share these secrets with Jordan. "I'm a rape child. My mother was brutally attacked, held hostage for the better part of a week. I was born nine months later. I'll never forget the things she told me about that week." Elaine purposely refrained from mentioning her mother's accounts of how she escaped. A savior who swooped out of the darkness and fought the evil off? Personally, Elaine did not buy into that. There was not telling how disoriented her mother was after five whole days of torture.

The wolf call sounded again. It was different this time, low and sorrowful. Was Jordan imagining things, or was Elaine actually responding to the call?

"I'm sorry. I had no idea." Sincerity rang through every word, but for some reason, Elaine found his words hollow. "But you're not responsible for the things your father did. People do all sorts of unexplainable things. You and I both know what kind of men are out there. We're dealt with them. It isn't your job to right his wrongs."

Elaine shook her head wearily. "You don't get it, Jordan. He wasn't just some psycho out to torture and kill women. He was different. The medical reports said that she had forty-two bite marks in her. Forty-two. No one knew how she survived, let alone me. They said it was a wonder I survived to full term." Elaine could tell from his face that he still did not want to believe. _Constantine would believe me_. The thought appeared before she could stop it. Why did she have this desire to talk to him about her past? Was he simply forcing her to face her past? Some deep part of her believed that Constantine held the key.

"Did they ever catch him?" Jordan asked softly, already knowing the answer.

Elaine turned her black eyes towards him. "How do you catch evil? How do you kill death?" Jordan had no answer. "And you may not think it's my responsibility to right his wrongs, but whatever he is, half of me is _that._ If I can use it, any part of it of my past or my origin, to help people, then why shouldn't I? That's why we're here, Jordan. To use whatever we can to help people and, if we ever find someone like my father" - she spat the word like a disease – "then I'm going to try my best to make sure he can't hurt anyone else."

Suddenly, the mark on Elaine's neck flared up. Fire raced through her body, desire like she had never known before. Like she had felt in the castle with Constantine. He was here. But was he a savior or a demon?


End file.
